UN SECY-GEN URGES AFRICA TO IMPROVE ENGAGEMENT OF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

Addressing a meeting on women empowerment here over the weekend, Guterres added that Africa needed to work harder to enhance women’s participation at the leadership level. Even though there are promising practices, Guterres said, a lot more should be done to bring women to top positions.

Policies which encourage women’s participation and help to extend support and inclusive systems which would allow them to develop leadership qualities should be introduced by countries, he said.

He added that empowering women should be started in higher education by exposing them to different practices which would help to develop leadership qualities.

He also said that although the responsibility of government in empowering women is mandatory, the commitment of women to break the traditions which chained them and to empower themselves was crucial

The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said that since women empowerment was among the top agendas of the continent, each member country had a responsibility towards this end.

He said every country had the responsibility to introduce policy and inclusive system which would help to promote women empowerment. Countries need to set agendas and strategies which can support women to promote themselves to the top level.

According to him, the AU is striving to improve women’s participation at every level in collaboration with international organizations such as UN Women.

African leaders and first ladies attended the breakfast meeting on women held on the sidelines of the 30th AU Summit taking place in the Ethiopian capital on Sunday and Monday.